John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) knows he’s on borrowed time and his subconscious is telling him as much. Some incredible upcoming episodes ahead of the wedding will see Emmerdale flit between John’s nightmare world and the present as he starts to unravel.

He’s having nightmares of being arrested for Nate’s (Jurell Carter) murder, and he’s right to worry as Moira (Natalie J Robb) is seen standing by as the lake is being dredged – Nate’s final resting place.

John gets wind of this and in a panic, decides to flee. But before he can get out the door, his groom catches him. He’s got some fast talking to do and yet he somehow manages to convince Aaron he’s just got wedding day jitters and that all is ok. Aaron buys this, but the instant he is gone, John resumes packing.

As John is hiding near the lake, he receives a loving text from Aaron (Danny Miller), and it’s as if someone wants him to live to kill another day as he’s relieved to watch the workers down their tools. The dredging has been cancelled, Nate remains undiscovered.

But had it not been for Aaron’s text, John would have run. His weakness and downfall might ultimately prove to be because of love. Actor Oliver Farnworth tells Metro: ‘I think if he didn’t love Aaron so much he’d probably be out of there. He really loves Aaron.’

After that lucky escape, John thinks he’s in the clear, but Aidan’s mum Cathleen appears in town with news John does not want to hear – Aidan is awake.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, John begins experiencing new nightmares – of Aidan crashing his wedding and revealing the truth. These nightmares are a big problem for John.

‘The problem with that is he’s having nightmares and talking in his sleep, so he becomes terrified of going to sleep because he doesn’t want anything to come out while he’s asleep,’ Oliver explains. So not only is he at risk of giving himself away, he’s trying to solve the problem by depriving himself of sleep. A lose-lose situation.

Brought back to the present, John hears just how well Aidan is doing and Cathleen tells him it’s time to pay his former fiancé a visit. Aaron is forced to watch as his husband-to-be heads off to see his ex.

This is another terrifying moment for John as he tries to hold things together knowing that Aidan holds the key to his undoing.

‘We don’t know what Aidan’s going to reveal,’ Oliver teases. ‘Not necessarily the things John has imparted to him about recent events, but what’s he going to reveal about events from quite a long time ago? So there’s that jeopardy as well.’

The next day, John slips back into his dreamworld and imagines him and Aaron at the altar on the cusp of being wed, only Aaron stops last minute and tells John he doesn’t trust him. As he snaps back to reality, John realises that he’s watching Aaron driving away.

At the Woolpack, Belle (Eden Taylor Draper), Chas (Lucy Pargeter), and Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) try and explain away where the two grooms have gone to keep the guests from doing a bunk. John manages to find Aaron, but Aaron is keeping his cards close to his chest, and it seems their impending marriage is on shaky ground after all.

But together, they head back to the wedding venue, where they discover that there’s no Mack (Lawrence Robb), Aaron’s best man.

This is another bad omen, but Paddy (Dominic Brunt) steps in, and things can continue. But where is Aaron’s real best man and will Aaron wake up to John before it’s too late?